LAS VEGAS - A handy new holster from Taser International Inc. holds not only your stun gun but a music player too.

Taser's latest foray into consumer products was introduced Monday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The holster costs $72.99 on the company's Web site and includes a 1-gigabyte MP3 player.

The company, which also sells its electronic weapons to law enforcement agencies and the military, has been stepping up its consumer product offerings with Tasers in new colors like "red-hot" and "fashion pink."

The latest Taser — in a leopard print and costing $379.99 — "provides a personal protection option for women who want fashion with a bite," said Chief Executive Rick Smith.

A new holster from Taser International Inc. holds a stun gun and a music player.

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — A Clay County woman's family said it's seeking justice after their loved one died shortly after being shocked 10 times with Taser guns during a confrontation with police.

The family of 56-year-old Emily Delafield said it would take the Green Cove Springs Police Department to court, according to a WJXT-TV report.

In April 2006, officers with the police department said they were called to a disturbance at a home in the 400 block of Harrison Street just before 5 p.m. In a 911 call made to the Green Cove Springs, Delafield can be heard telling a dispatcher that she believed she was in danger: Dispatcher: And what's the problem?

Delafield: My sister is waiting on my property.

Dispatcher: Your what? Delafield: My sister (inaudible) is on my property trying to harm me.

Officers said they arrived to find Delafield in a wheelchair, armed with two knives and a hammer. Police said the woman was swinging the weapons at family members and police. Within an hour of her call to 911, Delafield, a wheelchair-bound woman documented to have mental illness, was dead. Family attorney Rick Alexander said Delafield's death could have been prevented and that there are four things that jump out at him about the case.

"One, she's in a wheelchair. Two, she's schizophrenic. Three, they're using a Taser on a person that's in a wheelchair, and then four is that they tasered her 10 times for a period of like two minutes," Alexander said.

According to a police report, one of the officers used her Taser gun nine times for a total of 160 seconds and the other officer discharged his Taser gun once for a total of no more than five seconds.

A medical examiner found Delafield died from hypertensive heart disease and cited the Taser gun shock as a contributing factor, the report said. On her death certificate, the medical examiner ruled Delafield's death a homicide. The family said it plans to sue the Green Coves Springs Police Department now that it has all the reports regarding their loved one's death.

"We're going to try to compensate the estate and the family and try to get justice," Alexander said. He said he believes the evidence weighs heavily in favor of Delafield's family and that justice will be served.

"I think that this evidence is going to show, along with some of the evidence we've collected outside of here, that there is no reason Emily Delafield should have died that day," Alexander said. He said he plans to file a notice to sue sometime before the end of the year.

The family of 56-year-old Emily Delafield said it would take the Green Cove Springs Police Department to court.

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Mentally Disabled Unarmed Woman Tortured and Shocked repeatedly with Taser

Officer denied using weapon, suspended after investigation
Sunday, December 2, 2007

Amanda Beets is 28 years old, but she still refers to herself as a child, even when discussing her own little girl, Ashley. As she recalls the events of March 21, 2005, when she was shocked repeatedly by a Knoxville Police Department Taser although she wasn't fighting with officers, she describes the experience in the plainest of terms: "It hurt. It really hurt."

Beets lives in a small house on Connecticut Avenue in North Knoxville with her mother, Carol Dianna Lewis. A bout with spinal meningitis when Beets was an infant left her with a speech impediment and impaired mental functioning, problems that have kept her from striking out on her own.
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Jerry Larson was trying to get some sleep Monday night when his 27-year-old son, Aaron, sat on the edge of the bed, asking for advice.

Jerry Larson said he shooed his son away, telling him to go enjoy the family's Christmas Eve turkey dinner. He promised they would talk after he had a few hours of sleep, but by the time Larson awoke his son was gone.

The next day, Aaron Larson was shot to death by a State Patrol trooper during a bizarre incident on Interstate 5 in Federal Way.

Several people called 911 around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to report that a man had jumped out of a moving car near the onramp at South 320th Street. Witnesses said he dropped his pants around his ankles and was exposing himself, said Stacy Flores, spokeswoman for the Federal Way Police Department, which is investigating the shooting.

By the time troopers arrived, the man had his pants back on but he had his belt in his hand and was using it to strike passing cars, Flores said. He also tried to pry open some car doors.

The man tried to choke Trooper Mike Cheek and struck him repeatedly with his hands and fists, Flores said. Cheek used a Taser on Larson but it was ineffective, she added.

Cheek then shot the man. While the King County Medical Examiner's Office hasn't released the man's name, his father identified him as Aaron Larson.

Cheek was not hurt and has been placed on administrative leave, the State Patrol said. Cheek has been with the State Patrol for 11 years and has not been involved in another fatal shooting while with the department.

Authorities are investigating whether Larson was under the influence of drugs. The King County Medical Examiner's Office said Wednesday it is awaiting toxicology tests.

"His behavior was unusual, not normal," Flores said.

At least one 911 call was made from the car Larson was in, with the caller indicating the man had a handgun, police said. Larson's girlfriend, her son and Larson's younger brother were all riding in the car when he hopped out, according to Jerry Larson.

Detectives are investigating whether Larson was armed. It's unknown whether he drew a weapon at any point during Tuesday's incident, Flores said. Jerry Larson said Wednesday he doesn't believe his son was using drugs because he was working for a Chehalis-based trucking company that conducts random drug tests on its drivers.

Stephanie Axelson, secretarial payroll director at M&M Transport, said Larson tested negative for drugs when he was hired three months ago. She said he hadn't been tested since.

Jerry Larson, 50, of Ethel, Lewis County, said his son had recently been depressed because things weren't going well with his girlfriend and that he didn't like living in Olympia. Aaron Larson grew up near Snoqualmie and graduated from Mount Si High School, his father said. He moved to Honolulu after high school, but recently returned to the region, settling in Olympia with his girlfriend and the woman's young son.

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Travelers had called 9-1-1 to report that the man, whom police aren’t identifying tonight pending notification of next of kin, had been behaving erratically. The man reportedly ran between cars on the freeway, tried to open car doors, removed his pants and swung his belt at passing drivers.

When a state patrol officer arrived about 15 minutes later, the man attacked him and attempted to strangle him. The trooper used a Taser on the man, which had no effect, and then shot and killed him, according to the Federal Way Police Department, which has taken over the investigation of the crash.

Police seek more information about the incident. Witnesses are asked to call 9-1-1 and ask for the Federal Way Police Department.

Source: http://www.theolympian.com/breakingnews/story/309492.html

Posted at: World Topix

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(AP) — A police officer used a stun gun to zap a yoga instructor who yelled at her in a crowded department store, drawing questions about the non-lethal weapon's use. (more…)

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DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A surveillance camera catches a police officer using a Taser to bring a customer under control in a Daytona Beach Best Buy Thursday. Many people are asking if the officer really needed to use 50,000 volts of electricity to calm the allegedly loud-mouthed customer down, WESH 2 News reported.Daytona Beach police officer Claudia Wright said the shopper was resisting arrest, but many people said Wright used excessive force. (more…)

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